Chris Smyth
The Times of London
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Chris:
Water firms could escape higher fines for pollution as ministers row back on tougher penalties
Water companies are set to avoid big fines for spilling sewage into rivers and seas as ministers fear the multimillion pound penalties could backfire.Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, is understood to believe fines of up to £250 million for polluters are “disproportionate” and is backing aw → Read More
Cabinet reshuffle: Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle is biggest Whitehall shake-up since Brexit
Rishi Sunak announced the biggest shake up of Whitehall since Brexit as he put energy security and scientific innovation at the forefront of his government’s a → Read More
Revealed: rural hotspots leading the drive to early retirement
On the undulating greens of Alderley Edge Golf Club where Gary Thomas is preparing to tee off on a wooded course with views across to the Peak District, it is hard to see the appeal of going back to the office.This part of Cheshire East, which includes some of the most affluent villages in the count → Read More
Boris Johnson earns £1m in six weeks, but taxpayer gets his bill for legal fees
Boris Johnson has earned nearly a million pounds in just over six weeks, it has been revealed. The former prime minister registered more than half a million po → Read More
Liz Truss allies in new Tory group plot to place her dogma at party’s heart
Next week a group of Conservative backbench MPs will meet in Westminster to set up a new political group.It does not have a name yet but it does have a purpose → Read More
Rishi Sunak promises a better future with his education ‘silver bullet’
Rishi Sunak used his first big speech since entering Downing Street to try to frame his political vision and draw dividing lines with Labour before the → Read More
Union chief: Co-ordinated strikes are only a matter of time
It is only a matter of time before striking unions join forces, ministers were warned yesterday.Britain was told that it faced co- ordinated and escalating walkouts in the new year in an attempt to force the government to back down in public sector pay disputes. Border Force staff who are members of → Read More
Strikes: Sunak rejects call for nurses’ pay talks as train chaos continues
Key momentsMore than 40,000 members of the RMT walk outRail union hints at resolution to strike chaos Nursing walkout had a “significant impact” on pat → Read More
Pay gap is not the only problem for the NHS
NHS workers have undoubtedly had real-term pay cuts over the past decade and have fallen behind the private sector this year. When the whole country is getting → Read More
Rishi Sunak won’t seek Swiss-style relationship with Brussels
Rishi Sunak has ruled out a Swiss-style relationship with the EU in which Britain would obey rules made in Brussels.Government figures have been talking private → Read More
Northern Ireland protocol deal in place by April, Sunak tells Biden
Rishi Sunak has told President Biden he will reach a deal with the EU on Northern Ireland by April.The president raised his concerns about the Good Friday agreement during a meeting between the two leaders at the G20 summit in Bali, as Britain prepares a law that allows it to unilaterally override p → Read More
NHS doesn’t need cash, says Steve Barclay
Rishi Sunak faces a new battle with the NHS after his health secretary said he could do without extra cash.Steve Barclay astonished Treasury officials when he → Read More
Tory right fears the budget will be more kill than cure
As Jeremy Hunt pores over his first budget this weekend, he is grappling with an almost impossible question. How do you sell something almost unsellable to vote → Read More
NHS told it won’t be cut, but must improve services
Rishi Sunak will exempt the NHS from budget cuts but has demanded that it deals with big variations in performance round the country in exchange for protection → Read More
Rishi Sunak will deny King Charles his trip to Cop27 in Egypt
Rishi Sunak is upholding Liz Truss’s decision to stop King Charles attending the Cop 27 climate conference, despite the monarch “ champing at the bit” to go.The prime minister faces criticism over his own decision to skip the event and has been under pressure to allow the monarch to attend instead.C → Read More
How will Sunak balance the books? Quick wins, but then it gets harder
Liz Truss was forced to sign the death warrant on her own premiership because she could not implement the spending cuts needed to make her tax plans add up. Now it falls to Rishi Sunak to find a way to balance the books without unbalancing his own party.The new prime minister starts with two advanta → Read More
Fattened banks and gas firms catch the eye of Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt is eyeing a raid on bank and energy company profits to reduce the need for deep spending cuts.Allies of the chancellor told the Financial Times that → Read More
Minister ready to tell cabinet that benefits must match inflation
Sajid Javid has become the latest senior Tory to call for benefits to rise with inflation, as Liz Truss prepares to climb down on her desire for a real-terms cut.The former health secretary, home secretary and chancellor said benefits “must” rise with inflation, in the latest sign that the prime min → Read More
NHS could be forced to cut back on GPs and cancer care
The NHS has warned ministers that it may have to make cutbacks to cancer care, GPs and mental health to cover a £20 billion hole in its budget.In a blunt assess → Read More
Now even Liz Truss’s allies are feeling rattled
Amid the plummeting markets and polls this week, a senior government figure approached No 10 and urged it to change course. They were summarily rebuffed.“It’s like talking to crack addicts,” they said. “You’re saying you guys need to stop, you need to temper your approach, we’ve got to communicate b → Read More